Terra Firma deny EMI bid

EMI 's takeover by private equity firm Terra Firma survived a scare after reports said a rival planned to gatecrash the deal. Corvus Capital admitted it had been interested, but said that it was no longer in the running following Terra Firma's approach.

MUSIC EMI 's takeover by private equity firm Terra Firma survived a scare after reports said a rival planned to gatecrash the deal.

Corvus Capital admitted it had been interested, but said that it was no longer in the running following Terra Firma's approach.

Reports had earlier claimed that Corvus was working on a proposal with EMI's former chief executive Jim Fifield.

The possible offer valued the group at around £2.5bn, trumping the 265p-a-share deal tabled by financier Guy Hands' private equity outfit, although Terra Firma's bid included another £800m to cover EMI's debt.

Analysts expect that EMI, whose stars include Robbie Williams, Kylie and Joss Stone, could still be subject to a bid battle.

Warner Music, which put forward a conditional proposal for 260p a share earlier this year, is thought still to be in the running.